As America celebrates breaking free from British tyranny centuries ago, another country is trying to control the United States today: China . The Chinese Communist Party, fueled by state-owned enterprises, slave labor, and a complete disregard for the environment, will do anything to exploit America’s open economy.
More than 20 years ago, the U.S. thought welcoming China into the World Trade Organization would benefit Americans and force Beijing to play by the rules. Trade boomed, and a flood of cheap imports dropped prices.
But hard-working people, especially in my home state of Ohio, lost their jobs. Our institutions lost their values. The NBA and Hollywood routinely censor themselves to avoid offending China and losing the ability to make billions of dollars there.
Meanwhile, as witnessed during the pandemic, the U.S. has become dependent on China for vital resources, such as pharmaceuticals. The Chinese Communist Party also has a stranglehold on the supply chains for critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are essential to solar panels, fighter jets, and computers. This domination, subsidized by forced labor, dwarfs OPEC’s control of the oil market.
Instead of encouraging China’s better angels, the past two decades have entrenched the country’s worst impulses: China has stolen U.S. intellectual property, launched cyberattacks, and profited off human rights abuses.
The U.S. cannot rely on an adversary to keep hospitals fully stocked and our energy secure. We should declare independence by supporting American manufacturers and penalizing unfair Chinese competitors.
One step toward this goal is leveraging the U.S.'s cleaner economy. American industry is three times as carbon efficient as China’s, but domestic manufacturers and producers aren’t benefiting from this fact. Implementing a pollution import fee would level the playing field by punishing high-polluting Chinese producers and rewarding American goods.
This action, combined with cutting regulatory red tape, would significantly help our manufacturers. We must make it easier to build, drill, and mine in America.
On mining, we have the natural resources to escape China’s vicelike grip on critical minerals and rare earth elements. However, the Biden administration has sent mixed messages, backing some mining projects and blocking others in Minnesota and Alaska. Domestic mining creates jobs, shores up a massive security vulnerability, and is much better for the environment than mining in China.
Increasing the domestic supply of these raw materials would also make it easier and cheaper for U.S. automakers to challenge China’s control of the electric vehicle market. Regardless of what you think of EVs or solar panels, we can all agree that the U.S., not a country determined to supplant us in every way, should dominate all energy technologies.
Some might suggest that this talk of declaring independence from China is unhelpful and unrealistic since it is America's third-largest trading partner behind Canada and Mexico.
I am not advocating eliminating all trade with China. I am advocating eliminating national security vulnerabilities created by an overreliance on China, focusing on where the CCP is taking advantage of us. The status quo is clearly unsustainable and unacceptable.
So, this July Fourth, when you’re at a barbecue or watching fireworks, don’t just focus on how the United States declared independence from one form of tyranny in the past. Remember that the CCP wants to export their tyranny and reign supreme over the world right now.
Thankfully, we have the tools, America’s peerless manufacturing base and a means of holding China accountable, to liberate ourselves. The only question is whether we have the political will to unleash them.
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Chris Johnson is a GOP strategist who organizes the next generation of conservative leaders. He also serves as a senior adviser to the National Federation of College Republicans, focusing on energy issues.
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